Seken munesan'yō 世間胸算用

Archive Unit
  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 59 16107.c.39
  • Dates of Creation
      1699
  • Language of Material
      Japanese
  • Physical Description
      5 volumes Condition: Fair to good. A few ink smears and water stains in maki 5. Worm damage in margins of most maki has been made good by skilful urauchi re-backing. Impression: Atozuri, from moderately worn blocks. Illustrations: A total of 19 sumizuri illustrations, 11 double-page (mihiraki) and 8 single-page, distributed as follows: (maki 1) 2 double, 2 single; (2) 1 double, 2 single; (3) 3 double, 1 single; (4) 2 double, 2 single; (5) 3 double, 1 single. Illustrator not named, but unlikely to be Yoshida Hanbē, Hishikawa Moronobu or Saikaku himself. Seals of ownership: Two red seals, one oblong and one square, both printed inkoku, on first page of maki 1 and last page of maki 5.

Scope and Content

Variant title: Ōtsugomori wa ichinichi senkin 大晦日は一日千金. Author/compiler: Ihara Saikaku 井原西鶴 1642-93. Imprint: Ōsaka, Yorozuya Nihē, Genroku 12, 1699. Kanki on fol. 21a of maki 5 reads: 元禄十二己卯年八月吉旦 ／ 書肆 ／ 大坂南本町 ／ 萬屋仁兵衛板行. Description: 5 kan, 5 satsu, in a box. (Maki 1) ff. [1] (序), 21; (2) ff. 20; (3) ff. 20; (4) ff. 20; (5) ff. 21.25 x 18 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 18.8 x 14.2 cm. (average). Single-line borders. Single black fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text with printed furigana. 10 lines to page, 24-26 characters to line. Original blackish-grey covers, with original printed title slips on left. Gedai: 世間胸算用 ／ 大晦日ハ一日千金, without tsunogaki heading indicating illustrations (繪入, 新板繪入, etc.). No naidai, except at head of mokuroku in each maki: Munesan'yō 胸算用, followed by sub-title. Hashiragaki: Munesan'yō 胸算用 + maki no. + folio no. Edition: Second edition, printed from the blocks acquired by Yorozuya Nihē from the 3 publishers of the first edition of Genroku 5 (1692) : Uemura Heizaemon 上村平左衞門 of Kyōto, Yorozuya Seibē 萬屋清兵衞 of Edo, and Itamiya Tarōemon 伊丹屋太郎右衞門 of Ōsaka. Contents: A collection of ukiyo-zōshi stories, enlivened by wry humour, recounting the struggles of the poorer townsmen to evade bill-collectors at the time of debt-settling at the end of the year. The preface on first folio of maki 1 is engraved from Saikaku's own hanshita.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Richard Lane, 19 Nov. 1956.

Other Finding Aids

Kenneth Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese books in the British Library printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, 1993).C.Japanese works 和書 5.Literature - fiction 国文-小説 g.Ukiyo-zōshi 浮世草子

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 3, p. 608; Saikaku 西鶴, pp. 142-4, p1. 376-80; Teihon Saikaku zenshū 定本西鶴全集, vol. 7, pp. 179-298.